Day 5 - Amarillo (Which is Spanish for Yellow)

We had booked an Airbnb for two nights to stay in Amarillo, TX which we found out was the halfway point on the famous Route 66 Highway that runs from Chicago to Los Angeles.  It was a famous route for Dust Bowlers in the 30s to get to "California or Bust" as well as the road made famous for kids in the Pixar movie Cars.  I just had to see some of the "Mother Road".  Unfortunately, there is not a lot of it left since I-40 came along in the late 50s and 60s.  There were some old streets that are in town that are trying to hang on to the past.

Tate and Trey on Route 66

Our first stop on our day visit in Amarillo was the Cadillac Ranch.  Some guy thought it would be a good idea to bury several old Cadillacs in the ground in his corn field and let travelers come by and spray paint them.  It was pretty popular as many people were there even after heavy rains had made it very muddy.

You can see the cars buried in the background

Tate leaving his mark

Trey was here!

Somebody in the family had already been there it seems!

So, after we visit that tourist attraction, we head into town to see what was left of Route 66.  There is one stretch in town that has become an antique and restaurant row through Amarillo.  Sad, but not much there to see.  We had a little time so we went to check out the Amarillo Zoo.  It had been a while since the boys had been to a zoo, so we decided to check it out.  There were quite a few cool animals there (Lions, Tigers, Bears, oh my!  And buffalo and elk).  After our outing, we go back to the room and prepare for my big treat - Dinner at the famous Big Texan Steak Ranch!

All the way to Amarillo, there were road signs advertising the World Famous Big Texan.  Legend has it that this restaurant owner was feeding some hungry cowboys one day and there was a challenge to see who could eat the most one-pound steaks that he sold.  One cowboy ate 4 and a half steaks, a loaded baked potato, a salad, and a dinner roll all in under an hour.  This gave the owner an idea.  If anyone could come in and eat that same meal, they could eat for free.  And, so that is the big attraction there.  It seems that almost 10,000 people have done it since the 1960s - eaten a 72 oz. steak with all the sides!

The "Big Texan" - the picture does not do it justice!

The boys outside The Big Texan

Famous road side sign

My meal - only a 16 oz Ribeye - Pretty Good!

After our meal, we decide to, well, go see another baseball game!  Amarillo is the home of the Amarillo Sodpoodles, the Double-A minor league team for the Arizona Diamondbacks.  This was also the 4th of July and they were hosting a fireworks show after the game.  The game was nearly sold out and all we could get were standing-room-only tickets.  We go and the park was amazing.  The team and the stadium are only two years old so everything was really nice.  What is a Sodpoodle you may say?  Well, it is a nickname for a prairie dog.  The game didn't go so well for the home team as the Wichita City Wind Surge blew in and was able to pull out the win.  It didn't matter.  A good time was had by all and the fireworks were great!

Ruckus the Sodpoodle mascot

The Amarillo skyline from the ballpark and yes Jason Aldean, it is an Amarillo Sky - absolutely beautiful!

After the game, we head back to our place and prepare for the next day's 5-hour drive to Arlington to see the Texas Rangers.

Day 4 - Amarillo By (Evening) - Sorry, George Strait!

After spending the night at the Econolodge in Pueblo (NOT RECOMMENDED!), we get up and go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  We had planned to drive to Amarillo to stay for a couple nights in the Texas Panhandle.  Tammy had wanted to go for a walk along the Pueblo riverwalk but the boys did not seem too interested, so we decided to drive on to Texas for what we thought was going to be a 5-hour drive (it's a good thing we did).  The drive south through Colorado was beautiful with the Rocky Mountains always on the horizon to the west.  We even got a good look at Pike's Peak along the way.  Then you cross into New Mexico for a while and you head through the famous Raton Pass as you're heading toward Texas.  As we were coming down and almost out of the Raton Pass, there was a lot of road construction.  We were just about to reach the exit where we were to change roads when we hit a huge pothole.  Wham!  And we punctured a tire. 

This was NOT GOOD!

Our little Mazda 3 that we were driving had these low-profile tires which do not give much when you hit a pothole on the interstate.  So we take the next exit which was only .7 miles away and we pull off into a service station.  We call Enterprise to inform them of our dilemma but they were going to be no help as the closest place they could help us was 90 miles away.  It is near lunchtime on Saturday of the 4th of July weekend.  Most of the nearby Tire Dealers were closed.  And those that were open, many did not have the 18" tire that we were needing.  We were stressing!  So, the boys and I put on the spare (which was a life lesson for them as I had never done that with them before)

We were thinking we were going to have to drive several hundred miles on that spare when we had one more idea.  There was a nearby tire store called Cunnico Tire there in Raton.  We had called them before but no answer.  So, we decided to just drive by there just to see if anyone was there.  As luck would have it, it was a little three-man shop and they were open for another 20 minutes.  I ask if they have the size tire that we need and they did not have the exact tire, but one that would work!  Thank goodness!

The boys and I outside the tire store that "bailed us out"

So we gladly purchase a tire (which Enterprise will reimburse us for) and go to a nearby Pizza place for lunch.  Crisis averted.  We then head on to Texas bound for Amarillo.  And yes, I made Tate the DJ play George Strait's classic song, "Amarillo by Morning". We had booked an Air BnB in Amarillo and we got there around 5:00.  Tammy had to get a walk in, so we found a local park and she walked and the boys got some long toss throwing in at the same time.  After a long and stressful day, we rested well that night.

Day 3 - Head for the Rockies

On Friday, we leave Denver and head west to go take in some of the sights in the Rocky Mountains.  We did not have a whole lot of time to see some of the best places so I decided to go to Red Rocks and then make the hour-long drive to Mount Evans and drive on the highest paved road in North America knowing we could enjoy some beautiful scenery on the way.  We were not disappointed.  Red Rocks and the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater were impressive.  The huge Red Rock formations were beautiful to see and almost made us feel like we were on another planet.

The view of Denver from Red Rocks

Trey and Tate at the appropriately named Red Rocks

The famous Amphitheater where many famous acts have performed since the 1930s

Mount Evans is one of the Rockies' "14ers" which rises to 14,000 feet above sea level, so we got to see some marvelous views.

It is about 14 miles of continuous winding roads to get to the peak of Mount Evans.  It even rises above the tree line and the views as well as the fact that there are no guard rails on the sides of the road are breathtaking!

A view of the road - "No guardrails!"

A lake view on the way up.

Tammy and I at the top!

Trey and Tate at the summit.

We even saw some Mountain Goats (That is orange paint on the little one - not sure how it got on there)

So, after our time in the Mountains, we had to head South toward Texas.  We drive a few hours and get a room in Pueblo, Colorado for the night.  Little did we know what fun times we were going to have on Saturday!

Year 8 - Stadium Tour - Denver to Texas - Days 1 & 2 Coors Field #21

 Recap:  We began this bucket list adventure way back in 2014 when we were inspired to attempt this goal of visiting all 30 MLB ballparks by the time that Trey graduates from high school.  In 7 years, we have seen so many stadiums.  In 2014, Trey was 9 and Tate was 7, we went to  Philadelphia, New York Yankees, Cooperstown for the HOF induction ceremony when Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Bobby Cox were inducted, Boston, New York Mets, and Baltimore.  In 2015 we went to Cincinnati, Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.  In 2016, we went to Miami, cruised the Caribbean, and went to Tampa.  In 2017, we took a year off to save up for the next year.  In 2018, we did the All-Star game in Washington D.C. In 2019, we went to St. Louis, Kansas City, Minnesota, Lambeau Field, Milwaukee, Chicago Cubs, and Chicago White Sox bringing the total of stadiums visited to 20 out of the 30, 2/3 of them covered.  And then COVID-19 hit in 2020 and everything was put on hold.  So, in 2021, as the boys are now 16 and 14, we decide to resume our quest and head out west for Stadium #21 - Coors Field in Denver.

This trip will be different because we do not have our own transportation.  It has now become impractical to try to drive to these cities our west so we fly to Denver and get there on Wednesday, June 30.  Now, as these trips get farther and farther from home, there is a lot more planning that goes into preparing for this trip.  As I have said before, Tammy is a logistical genius when it comes to planning, so prior to the trip, we think we have everything covered.  Well...when we get to the airport, we have to take a shuttle to the rental car location where we had reserved a car from Thrifty.  As we try to get our keys, we are told that since this is a one-way rental, we have to put a $500 deposit down on a credit card.  We had already paid for the rental ahead of time.  They just needed a credit card to put a deposit on hold.  Here is where we encounter a huge difficulty.  We do not have a credit card.  We have debit cards which work as credit cards on most purchases, but no credit card.  The rental agency would not accept a debit card.  So, we were stuck. We have to take the shuttle back to the airport and get an Uber to take us to our hotel.  (Fortunately, Tammy had a contact with Enterprise who came to our rescue, but it took two days to get it).  So we relied on Uber and Lyft and Lime Scooters for transportation to Coors Field and to get around Denver for two days.

The boys loved riding the scooters around town!

Day 2 in Denver - we did not get to do some things we wanted to do on this day, but we did go into the city and see some of the sites.  We saw the National BallPark Museum which is a museum dedicated to some of the old historic ballparks that are no longer in existence (Ebbets Field, Shibe Park, Old Yankee Stadium, Polo Grounds, etc.). While on a Stadium Tour, we had to go see this museum, right?  I thought it was very good.  They had lots of exhibits and artifacts from many of the torn down parks, so many that The Hall of Fame in Cooperstown has called it one of the best collections of baseball memorabillia.  A great way to spend some time before the game.  Another thing we discovered in Denver were electric scooters!  The boys, especially Tate, were amazed that you could just come upon a scooter, hop on and go (of course there was a small fee incurred after a credit card swipe, but many cities are using these as a way to help reduce emissions - Lime, Uber, and Lyft are all in on this).

The Game - Rockies vs. Cardinals - back when we got our tickets a couple of months ago, I was kind of surprised at how expensive the tickets were going on Stubhub and other sites.  Also on the Rockies website, there were not a lot of tickets available.  I was wondering why this game was in such high demand, after all the Rockies are not playing that well and they were playing the Cardinals.  It turns out that the game we had decided to attend was going to be the first time that former Rockies All-Star Nolan Arenado would be back at Denver.  This is not the first time that we were able to experience this as we were able to be in St. Louis two years ago when Albert Pujols came back there for the first time when he was with the Angels.  And just like in St. Louis, the Rockies fans gave Arenado a standing ovation prior to his first at bat.  He is still held in high regard for Rockies fans.  

Coors Field - Wow!  We were very impressed with this stadium.  I don't know if it is the clean mountain air or maybe the effects of a possible contact "Rocky Mountian high", but this park was a beautiful place.  I purchased some tickets on the third level and as you can see in the pics below, we had an awesome view.

View of the scoreboard at Coors Field.

View of the field from our seats.  This was taken after the game was delayed by rain, but as you can see, it is gorgeous!

Evergreen trees native to Colorado that made up the Batter's Eye in Centerfield

The boys sporting their Rockies T-Shirts they bought at the Team Store

The game was delayed about 45 minutes due to a passing thunderstorm, but once the skies cleared, the game was underway and you could not ask for a better night for baseball. The temperature at first pitch was 64 degreees!  Some of the highlights of the game:

-It was really cool to see the Rockies fans give Nolan Arenado a standing ovation.  They still love him in Denver!

-We saw future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina play for the Cardinals as well as one of my favorite pitchers - Adam Wainwright.

-We got to see home runs hit by Brendan Rodgers for the Rockies and Paul Goldschmidt for the Cardinals.

-The Rockies won the game in the bottom of the 9th on a home run from Catcher Elias Diaz (but we were not there to see it as we left in the 8th inning to get back to our hotel making sure that we could get an Uber - yes, Trey was not very happy about missing that!)

All in all, Coors Field did not disappoint.  I don't know if it is one of our Top 5 stadiums that we have seen, but definitely is in the Top 10.  Maybe I will give my own rankings when we complete this.  Denver is a great city.  The people are friendly, the air is clean, and the views of the Rocky Mountains are incredible.  So we leave Denver the next day and "head for the mountains".

Day 8 - A Tour of Wrigley and seeing the Sox on the South Side #20 - Guaranteed Rate Field

After making it back to our hotel from watching the Cubs/Braves game, we decided to order pizza and eat in the room while we enjoyed a relaxing evening just doing nothing.  Of course, we ordered some of the famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza from a local well-known restaurant (for me, it was okay, not blown away by it).  The next day we would start out by taking a tour of Wrigley Field and for me, it would be a chance to decide once and for all which is my favorite stadium that I have seen (more on that in a later blog post).
We pack up the van and drive into Chicago on the famous Lake Shore Drive and I am made even more aware of the fact that I am so thankful that I do not live in a city and have to deal with that traffic every day.  We arrive early and find some breakfast and then make it over to Wrigley for our Tour. It was kind of a rainy and dreary day but the weather improved as we progressed through the tour.

Soaking it all in at the "Friendly Confines"

A lot of upgrades have been taking place in the last few years.

Neighbors trying to take advantage of their priceless location selling seats looking over the left field wall.

Our Tour Guide's name was Bryan and he was very knowledgable of the history of Wrigley Field (who many may know was named for the owner of the Wrigley Chewing Gum Company).  We learned about the history of the Cubs, whose name has a connection to the Football Team, the Bears.  We also learned about the history of the Bleacher Bums as well as the manual scoreboard and the guys that work it every game.

The manual scoreboard in the upper right operated by an all-male crew.

We even got to go up into the visiting team's clubhouse where the Braves had just been the day before.

Tate and Trey sitting in the lockers used by Freddie Freeman or Ronald Acuna Jr. just the day before.

Then we got to go up to the Press box and see where the Hall of Fame Broadcaster Harry Caray used to entertain the crowd when he sang Take Me Out to The Ballgame during the 7th Inning Stretch.

Trey and Tate along press row.

Lots of famous beat writers and reporters had sat up here.

And then we go to go down on the field and into the Cubs dugout which was really exciting.

Trey and Tate down on the warning track at Wrigley Field.

Standing where many of the Cubs stand while watching a game.

Sitting on the bench in the Cubs dugout

Trey making a call to the bullpen

Tate enjoying a little "pine time"

It was there that our tour came to an end and we headed out of the stadium.  The tour was very informative and full of lots of history which I really enjoyed.  There was some construction going on at the time which kind of took away from the nostalgia of the old ballpark, but I have to say Wrigley is a must to take in for any baseball enthusiast.  Unfortunately, after taking in all of Wrigley, it still does not overtake Fenway as my favorite of all the stadiums so far.
We stopped by Wrigleyville Dogs to have a hot dog for lunch and then left the North Side and headed south toward the South Side of Chicago to get ready for the White Sox game that night.
To be honest, I was not very excited about seeing the White Sox.  Everyone always talks about the Cubs in Chicago and there is not a lot of talk about the Sox until you get to the South Side.  I'll have to say, I was impressed with Guaranteed Rate Stadium, even though the name is terrible.  Why couldn't they somehow keep the Comiskey name attached to it somehow like they did at Wrigley?  But the people on the South Side really do like their White Sox.  There is something to be said about the crosstown rivalries that exist in baseball.  But of all the stadiums that we went to on this trip, I would have to say that Guaranteed Rate was probably the most fan-friendly when it came to food.  Their selections were by far the best to choose from and the prices were also more affordable.  The White Sox were not doing very well this year but you would not know it by watching the game that we saw as we once again saw the Minnesota Twins (for the third time this trip).

The view of the home plate area from the outfield at Guaranteed Rate Stadium

Tate getting a little practice in the Kids Zone.

Skyline view of Chicago from Guaranteed Rate Stadium

The view from our seats - Not too bad

The scoreboard at Guaranteed Rate stadium and the rainbow overhead

A beautiful night for baseball on the South Side of Chicago

Stadium number 20 for Tate and Trey

Since this was the last stop on our 6 stadium tour of the Midwest, we decided to leave a little early to beat the traffic and head toward home.  The game was very entertaining and the White Sox were able to get the win.  This had been an amazing trip but like all good things, our trip was about to come to an end.  We left Chicago and drove for about two hours where we stopped in Lafayette, Indiana to rest for the night.  The next day we would be going home.

We are now 2/3 of the way from completing our quest.  And from here on out, it would not be so simple as just jumping in the family van and heading out.  To complete the Stadium Tour, we would have to fly somewhere and rent a car which will require a little more planning (and money).  But we are bound and determined to do this.  We've got four more years to get 10 stadiums out west.  To be continued...

Day 7 - Chicago and #19 - Wrigley Field, Cubs vs Braves!

Chicago, ChiTown, the Windy City, the 3rd largest city in America.  After leaving Miller Park the night before, we decided to make the 2-hour drive down to Evanston, Illinois, just north of Chicago, where we had a two-night reservation.  We didn't get checked in and in the bed until after midnight so we slept in a little that next morning.  But not too long because we had tickets for a 1:15 game at Wrigley to see the Cubs take on our red hot Braves.
I was not very excited about trying to get around Chicago due to its large size.  We had anticipated using the "El", or the train to make the trip to Wrigley and in fact, our hotel was conveniently located close to a train station.  But just for curiosity's sake, I looked into what it might cost to get an Uber or a Lyft.  I opened the app and found a ride from the front of our hotel to Waveland Avenue for 10 bucks!  Score!  We couldn't ride the train that cheap, much less have to deal with getting tickets and dealing with multiple stops.  This was a no-brainer.
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Harry Caray statue located at the corner of Waveland Avenue

When looking to buy tickets for the game, we wanted to experience what it was like to be in the famous Bleachers of Wrigley Field, and to sit with the "Bleacher Bums".  So when we arrived, we had to stand in line to be able to get seats in the bleachers as they were first come, first serve.  We arrive at the ballpark at our customary two hours before the first pitch to get in line before the gates open.  We were not first in line by any means.  I had really been looking forward to this stop for a long time.  I always tell people, when asked which is my favorite stadium that I have been to, that Fenway Park in Boston has been my favorite.  And most people will ask, "well, have you been to Wrigley Field?"  I would always have to say, "not yet".  Well, now I would be able to give my best personal opinion.  A little history here, Wrigley is the second oldest stadium in America, being built in 1914 (after Fenway Park built in 1912), and the people on the Northside LOVE their Cubs!
When we get through the gates, you can sense some of the nostalgia of yesteryear as you work your way up to the Bleacher section.  And in the areas in the outfield, you do get that old ballpark feeling.  The outfield bleachers do have the "old feeling" since it has the old flat benches with no backs for individual seats.  We worked our way down to the front row and secured some seats right above the hallowed Ivy of Wrigley Field.

View of the Ivy from our front row seats

The Iconic Manual Scoreboard of Wrigley and our fellow "Bleacher Bums"

I was excited!  We were at Wrigley Field and we were going to see our Atlanta Braves.  It couldn't get any better than this.  And then we started sweating!  It was so hot in the bleachers under the blistering sun.  But I was soaking it all in.  Trey was really enjoying himself getting autographs before the game.  This would be his best day ever getting signatures.  In fact, he got 9 Braves autographs and had his picture made with the Braves' Manager Brian Snitker and Braves TV personality Paul Bryd.

Trey with Braves Manager Brian Snitker - "Put me in, Coach!"

Trey "being interviewed" by Paul Byrd!

The game started out very exciting for us and our fellow Braves fans in the Bleachers as Atlanta went ahead 6-1.  But bullpen woes returned and the Cubs came back to go ahead and win the game.  There was some excitement just a few feet away from us. When a home run was hit by one of the Cubs, some poor fan in his attempt to catch the ball missed it and got hit in the nose.  I think it was broken as there was blood pouring everywhere and he had to be helped out of the stadium by medical staff.  We were entertained by Cookie Monster who led the chorus of Take Me Out To the Ballgame during the 7th inning stretch.  Another bittersweet moment took place in the 9th inning.  Former Brave and All-Star Closer Craig Kimbrel made his Cubs debut that day after recently signing a free agent contract.  He came in to try to shut down the Braves and get his first save.  It was painful to see him in that Cubs uniform.  The Braves, down by two runs, did get two guys on base and then Freddie Freeman grounded out to first to end the game with the score 9-7.

A couple of rowdy "Bleacher Bums"!

Although the Braves lost, Trey had a great day at Wrigley

The atmosphere in Chicago was great.  Their fans really love their Cubs.  We were set to tour Wrigley Field the next day and I would make my final determination about my favorite stadium after that.  So even though the Braves lost, we had a really good time at Wrigley.  After the game, we went outside the stadium for the picture by the iconic marquee at the front of Wrigley Field.

Kind of ironic posing for this with Braves shirts on.

Tate and Trey outside Wrigley Field

Small world moment - Outside the stadium, we meet up with one of Trey's classmates/teammates, Will Price as he and his Dad, Trae, had come up to Chicago to watch the Braves and Cubs.

Tate, Will, and Trey all supporting their Braves

Wrigley was so impressive that the next day we would go back for a tour of Wrigley and then head down to a game on the Southside to see the White Sox